The growth of Görtler vortices in compressible boundary layers

The linear instability of Görtler vortices in compressible boundary layers is considered. Using asymptotic methods in the high-wavenumber regime, it is shown that a growth-rate estimate can be found by solving a sequence of linear equations. The growth rate obtained in this way takes non-parallel effects into account and can be found much more easily than by ordinary differential equation eigenvalue calculations associated with parallel-flow theories.